Shares in Cisco Systems opened at their highest in 18 years today after quarterly earnings suggested a years-long effort to turn the network gear maker around was finally bearing fruit.
Cisco shares jumped nearly 5% in opening trade on Wall Street after the network gear maker posted upbeat results and forecast.
Shares of the world's biggest producer of vital data connectors like routers and switches have risen 30% in the past 12 months.
The company's quarterly revenue rose 2.7% to $11.9 billion, the first rise in more than two years. It also forecast an upbeat current quarter.
Cisco has been trying to reimagine itself as a software company with a focus on subscriptions after struggling with waning demand in its traditional business of selling the routers and switches which direct Internet traffic.
The company has benefited from the growth in smartphones, tablets and Internet of Things gadgets, the shift into cloud services that demand more connections between servers, and the rise of security threats.
Cisco started its transition toward a subscription and software-focused model nearly three years ago when long-time company executive Chuck Robbins took over as CEO.
It now gets a third of its revenue from recurring offers and more than half of software revenue from subscriptions.
